People's Liberation Army Air Force
|allegiance = Communist Party of China |branch = |type= Air force |role= Aerial warfare |size=398,000 active personnel Approx. 2,755 to 3,010+ aircraftInternational Institute for Strategic Studies: The Military Balance 2014, p. 236. |command_structure= People's Liberation Army |garrison= |garrison_label= |nickname= |motto= |colors= |colors_label= |march= |mascot= |equipment= |equipment_label= |battles= Korean War Vietnam War Sino-Vietnamese War |anniversaries= |decorations= |battle_honours= |commander1= Lt General Ding Laihang |commander1_label= Commander |commander2= General Yu Zhongfu |commander2_label= Political Commissar |notable_commanders= |identification_symbol= |identification_symbol_label= Flag |identification_symbol_2= |identification_symbol_3= |identification_symbol_4= |identification_symbol_2_label=Roundel |identification_symbol_3_label=Low Visibility Roundel |identification_symbol_4_label=Armband |aircraft_attack= Xian JH-7 |aircraft_bomber= JH-7, H-6 |aircraft_electronic= KJ-200, KJ-500, KJ-2000, TU-154 |aircraft_fighter= Chengdu J-7, Shenyang J-8, Chengdu J-10, Shenyang J-11, Shenyang J-16, Chengdu J-20, Su-27, Su-30MKK, Su-35S |aircraft_helicopter= Harbin Z-8, Harbin Z-9 |aircraft_interceptor= Shenyang J-8 |aircraft_patrol= |aircraft_recon= |aircraft_trainer= Hongdu L-15, Hongdu JL-8, JL-9 |aircraft_transport= Xian Y-20, Shaanxi Y-9, Shaanxi Y-8, Xian Y-7, Il-76 |aircraft_tanker= H-6U, Il-78 |start_date= }} The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is the aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLAAF was officially established on 11 November 1949. As of 2014, the PLAAF has a strength of around 398,000 personnelHacket, IISS 2010, pg 403–404. and is the largest air force in Asia. History Korean War to the Sino-Soviet Split The PLA's first organized air unit, was formed in July 1949 at Beijing Nanyuan Airport. It consisted of six P-51s, two Mosquitoes, and two PT-19s.Ken Allen, Chapter 9, "PLA Air Force Organization" , The PLA as Organization, ed. James C. Mulvenon and Andrew N.D. Yang (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2002), 349. On 25 October 1949, Liu Yalou was appointed as the chief of air force in the People's Liberation Army. By 11 November, the air force command was officially formed from the headquarters of Liu Yalou's [[14th Army Group (People's Republic of China)|14th bingtuan]] (which Witson translates as "Army"). Much Soviet assistance was received to help the process along. The PLAAF fought the Korean War in Soviet-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s, known as the J-2 in Chinese service, with training from Soviet instructors. The war also brought Soviet assistance for the indigenous aircraft industry. The Shenyang Aircraft Corporation built the two-seat MiG-15UTI trainer as the JJ-2, and during the war manufactured various components to maintain the Soviet-built fighters. By 1956 the People's Republic was assembling copies of MiG-15s and eight years later was producing both the Shenyang J-5 (MiG-17) and the Shenyang J-6 (MiG-19) under license. The 1960s were a difficult time for the PLAAF. The withdrawal of Soviet aid due to the Sino-Soviet split, and the prioritization of the missile and nuclear weapon programs, crippled the industry, which markedly declined through 1963. A recovery began around 1965 as J-2s, J-5s, and some J-6s were provided to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Development of the Shenyang J-8, China's first indigenous fighter, was also initiated during the 1960s. The 1980s The PLA Air Force underwent reorganization and streamlining as part of the reduction in force begun in 1985. Before the 1985 reorganization, the Air Force reportedly had four branches: air defense, ground attack, bombing, and independent air regiments. In peacetime the Air Force Directorate, under the supervision of the PLA General Staff Department, controlled the Air Force through headquarters located with, or in communication with, each of the seven military region headquarters. In war, control of the Air Force probably reverted to the regional commanders. In 1987 it was not clear how the reorganization and the incorporation of air support elements into the group armies affected air force organization. The largest Air Force organizational unit was the division, which consisted of 17,000 personnel in three regiments. A typical air defense regiment had three squadrons of three flights; each flight had three or four aircraft. The Air Force also had 220,000 air defense personnel who controlled about 100 surface-to-air missile sites and over 16,000 AA guns. In addition, it had a large number of early-warning, ground-control-intercept, and air-base radars manned by specialized troops organized into at least twenty-two independent regiments. In the 1980s the Air Force made serious efforts to raise the educational level and improve the training of its pilots. Superannuated pilots were retired or assigned to other duties. All new pilots were at least middle-school graduates. The time it took to train a qualified pilot capable of performing combat missions reportedly was reduced from four or five years to two years. Training emphasized raising technical and tactical skills in individual pilots and participation in combined-arms operations. Flight safety also increased. In 1987 the Air Force had serious technological deficiencies — especially when compared with its principal threat, the Soviet Armed Forces — and had many needs that it could not satisfy.China: A Country Study, 585 It needed more advanced aircraft, better avionics, electronic countermeasures equipment, more powerful aircraft weaponry, a low-altitude surface-to-air missile, and better controlled antiaircraft artillery guns. Some progress was made in aircraft design with the incorporation of Western avionics into the Chengdu J-7 and Shenyang J-8, the development of refueling capabilities for the B-6D bomber and the A-5 attack fighter, increased aircraft all-weather capabilities, and the production of the HQ-2J high-altitude surface-to-air missile and the C-601 air-to-ship missile. Although the PLAAF received significant support from Western nations in the 1980s when China was seen as a counterweight to Soviet power, this support ended in 1989 as a result of the Chinese crackdown on the Tiananmen protests of 1989 and the later collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. After the fall of the USSR, the Russian Federation became China's principal arms supplier, to the extent that Chinese economic growth allowed Russia to sustain its aerospace industry. Modernization program In the late 1980s, the primary mission of the PLAAF was the defense of the mainland, and most aircraft were assigned to this role. A smaller number of ground attack and bomber units were assigned to Air interdiction and possibly close air support, and some bomber units could be used for nuclear delivery. The force had only limited military airlift and aerial reconnaissance capabilities. In the early 1990s, the PLAAF began a program of modernization, motivated by the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as the possibility of military conflict with the Republic of China and perhaps also involving the United States. This process began with the acquisition of Su-27s in the early 1990s and the development of various fourth-generation aircraft, including the domestic J-10, and the FC-1 . The PLAAF also strove to improve its pilot training and continued to retire obsolete aircraft. This resulted in a reduction of the overall number of aircraft in the PLAAF with a concurrent increase in quality of its air fleet. The 21st century has seen the continuation of the modernization program with China's huge economic growth. It acquired 76 Su-30MKK's from 2000 to 2003, and 24 upgraded Su-30MK2's in 2004. It also produced around 200 J-11s from 2002 onwards and bought 3 batches (at a total of 76) of the Su-27SK/UBK. Production of the J-10 fighter began in 2002 with an estimated 200 aircraft in service currently. The PLAAF also began developing its own tanker aircraft, which it previously lacked, by modifying old H-6 bomber (Tupolev Tu-16). In 2005 it announced plans to buy approximately 30 IL-76 transport planes and 8 Il-78 tanker planes, which would greatly increase its troop airlift capability and offer extended range to many aircraft, though as of 2009 this deal is still on hold. Predictions of the PLAAF's future aircraft fleet indicate that it will consist of large quantities of Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11 as its main force, with J-16 and JH-7A as the PLAAF backbone precision strike fighters. Future stealth fighter projects such as the Chengdu J-20 will be inducted into the air fleet in small numbers, assigned to elite PLAAF selected pilots. The transport fleet will comprise Y-9 medium range transport aircraft, along with the Soviet Ilyushin Il-76, and domestic Y-20 heavy transport aircraft. Its helicopter fleet will comprise Z-20, Z-15 and Mi-17 troop transporters, and the WZ-10 attack helicopter for its ground forces. AWACS/AEW will be refined variants of existing service fleet of KJ-2000 and KJ-200, with UAV/UCAV in early stages of service in the PLAAF. Senior Colonel Wu Guohui has said that the PLAAF is working on a stealth bomber, which some people have called the H-18. According to a 2015 Pentagon report, PLAAF has around 600 modern aircraft. Lt Gen Xu Anxiang, PLAAF Deputy Commander, revealed the PLAAF has a multiphase roadmap for building a strong, modern air force. He said the building of a strategic force by 2020 would integrate aviation, space power, strike and defense capabilities. When this goal is achieved, the PLAAF's fourth-generation equipment like J-20 and Y-20 will become the backbone of the Air Force's arsenal and J-16 along with J-10 would be main stay of PLAAF. Gen Xu also said information-based combat capabilities will be enhanced. Ranks and insignia The ranks in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force are similar to those of the Chinese Army, formally known as the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, except that those of the PLA Air Force are prefixed by 空军 (Kong Jun) meaning Air Force. See Ranks of the People's Liberation Army or the article on an individual rank for details on the evolution of rank and insignia in the PLAAF. This article primarily covers the existing ranks and insignia. The markings of the PLAAF are a red star in front of a red band, it is very similar to the insignia of the Russian Air Force. The Red star contains the Chinese characters for eight and one, representing August 1, 1927, the date of the formation of the PLA. PLAAF aircraft carry these markings on the fins as well. Aerobatic display team The August 1st (aerobatic team) is the first PLAAF aerobatics team. It was formed in 1962. Aircraft inventory of PLAAF August Aerobatic Team includes the J-10 and it has previously flown the JJ-5 and J-7. The Sky Wing and Red Falcon air demonstration teams, which operate Nanchang CJ-6 and Hongdu JL-8 respectively, were established in 2011. Organization The Air Force headquarters consists of four departments: Command, Political Work, Logistics, and Materiel, which mirrors the former four general departments of the PLA. Below the headquarters, Theater command air forces (TCAF) direct divisions (Fighter, Attack, Bomber), which in turn direct regiments and squadrons.IISS Military Balance 2012, 233, 237 The PLAAF typically used the system of threes in its organization at Division level and below, i.e. 3 Regiments per Division, 3 Squadrons per Regiment, and so on. The situation is now more fluid, with several divisions (the 5th, 15th, 24th for example) only having two regiments.IISS Military Balance 2012, 239–240. There are also Independent Regiments within the TCAFs. The PLA Airborne Corps is under direct control of PLAAF Headquarters. Fifty operational air divisions were created from 1950 to 1971. This situation did not change until 1986, when the PLAAF began converting one air division in each of the seven military regions to a division-level transition training base (改装训练基地). Data from other sources seems to indicate that the 16th Air Division became the Shenyang MR Training Base (MRTB), the 17th the Nanjing MRTB (actually Beijing?), the 46th the Lanzhou MRTB, and the 32nd the Nanjing MRTB (at Rugao). Since then, the PLAAF has gradually reduced the remaining 43 operational air divisions to 29. Scramble.nl, accessed mid 2015, indicates there are at least six regiments of H-6 bombers. All three regiments of the 8th Bomber Division fly the aircraft - the 22nd, 23rd (former 143rd Regt/48th Div), and 24th. Also flying is the 28th Regiment of the 10th Bomber Division (People's Republic of China) and the 107th and 108th Regiments of the 36th Bomber Division. Order of battle *Central Theater Command **7th Fighter Division **15th Fighter Division **24th Fighter Division **34th Transport Division *Western Theater Command **33rd Fighter Division **44th Fighter Division **6th Fighter Division **36th Bomber Division **37th Fighter Division *Southern Theater Command **2nd Independent Regiment **2nd Fighter Division **8th Bomber Division PLAAF (inc elements of fmr 48th Div?) **9th Fighter Division PLAAF **13th Transport Division PLAAF **18th Fighter Division PLAAF **42nd Fighter Division PLAAF *Eastern Theater Command **3rd Independent Regiment **3rd Fighter Division **10th Bomber Division **14th Fighter Division **28th Attack Division **29th Fighter Division **1st Independent Regiment **5th Attack Division PLAAF **12th Fighter Division **19th Fighter Division *Northern Theater Command **1st Fighter Division **4th Independent Regiment **4th Fighter Division (inc 30th Div?) **11th Attack Division (inc 22nd Div?) **21st Fighter Division (inc 39th Div?) **30th Fighter Division *People's Liberation Army Airborne Forces of the PLAAF under Air Force HQ **PLAAF Airborne Corps ***43rd Airborne Division ***44th Airborne Division ***45th Airborne Division 26th Ftr Div with one regiment previously at Shanghai-Chongming Island; 31st Fighter Division previously with Jinan MR; 35th Ftr Div. Airbases There is presently over 150 air bases utilized by the People's Liberation Army Air Force, these are divided into the former seven military regions and the current 5 theater commands, as follows: * Beijing Military Region * Chengdu Military Region * Guangzhou Military Region * Jinan Military Region * Lanzhou Military Region * Nanjing Military Region * Shenyang Military Region Equipment The People's Liberation Army Air Force operates a large and varied fleet of some 3,010+ aircraft, of which around 2,100 are combat aircraft (fighter, attack and bombers). According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, PLAAF combat pilots acquire an average of 100-150 flying hours per year. For a list of aircraft no-longer flown by the People's Liberation Army Air Force see; List of historic aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force. Current inventory ]] taxiing]] touching down]] aircraft in flight]] } | |- | Chengdu J-20 | China |stealth multirole | | 28 | |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | AWACS |- | Ilyushin Il-76 | China | AEW | KJ-2000 | 4 | Chinese radar installed on a Ilyushin Il-76 airframe |- | Shaanxi Y-8 | China | AEW | KJ-200 | 7 | |- | Shaanxi Y-9 | China | AEW | KJ-500 | 9 | |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Reconnaissance |- | Challenger 850 | Canada | SIGINT | | 5 | |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Electronic Warfare |- | Shaanxi Y-8 | China | electronic jamming | Y-8EW | 16 | |- | Antonov An-30 | Ukraine | electronic warfare | |3 | |- | Tupolev Tu-154 | Russia | electronic warfare | |8 | |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Maritime patrol |- | Boeing 737 | United States | patrol / transport | | 2 | |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Tanker |- | Ilyushin Il-78 | Russia | aerial refueling | Il-78MP | 3 | |- | Xian H-6 | China | aerial refueling | HY-6U | 10HY-6U Tanker GlobalSecurity.org Retrieved Date: 04/04/2014 | |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Transport |- | Xian Y-7 | China | transport | | 43 | |- | Xian Y-20 | China | strategic airlifter | | 7 | |- | Xian MA60 | China | transport | | 9 | |- | Shaanxi Y-8 | China | transport | | 60 | |- | Shaanxi Y-9 | China | transport | | 9 | |- | Ilyushin Il-76 | Russia | strategic airlifter | | 22 | |- | Tupolev Tu-154 | Russia | transport | |2 | |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Helicopter |- | Mil Mi-8 | Russia | utility |Mi-8/17/171 | 16 | |- | Harbin Z-9 |China | utility / CSAR | |20 | licensed built variant of the AS365 Dauphin |- | Changhe Z-8 | China | transport / utility | |34 |licensed built Aérospatiale SA 321 |- ! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Trainer aircraft |- | Xian Y-7 | China | multi-engine trainer | | 13 | |- | Guimbal Cabri G2 | France | rotorcraft trainer | | 2 | |- | Chengdu J-7 | China |conversion trainer |JJ-7 | 35 | |- | Hongdu JL-8 | China / Pakistan |jet trainer |K-8 |170 | |- | Hongdu L-15 | China |jet trainer | |2 | |} See also * People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force * Republic of China Air Force * List of Chinese aircraft * List of Chinese aircraft engines * J-XX References Citations Sources * Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, A Country Study: China, 1987 * Further reading * Andreas Rupprecht and Tom Cooper: Modern Chinese Warplanes, Combat Aircraft and Units of the Chinese Air Force and Naval Aviation, Harpia Publishing (2012), , * Gordon, Yefim and Komissarov, Dmitry. Chinese Aircraft. Hikoki Publications. Manchester. 2008. External links * Articles on the Chinese military, from Sinodefence.com * Chinese Air Power * Regional Capability Growth on APA * The Sleeping Giant Awakens (Australian Aviation) * PLA Airbase Page on APA * PLA idag-PLAAF (Swedish) * USAF Air University, The PLAAF in 2010 3 Category:People's Liberation Army Air Force Category:Military units and formations established in 1949 Category:1949 establishments in China